A small cowrie shell pendant appears on the necklace, which glows while the barrier is up.
Joe takes a meditative pose and takes a deep breath, during which he establishes his inner peace and then wills it to supernaturally manifest. A nearly invisible spherical barrier appears around him and his friends. The barrier ripples with soft light (like under sunshine through water) when touched by anything, and it splashes and cracks when damaged.
While dangers, chaos, and bad weather are all a part of life, Joe's inner peace is available to all who are (literally) within his inner circle.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action or Reaction to activate. This Effect cannot be used unless you take no Quick Actions, Free Actions, nor minimal Movements. Roll Intellect + Influence at Difficulty 6.
If you succeed, you create a Barrier extending out 15 feet from yourself, which absorbs 2 times the next Outcome + 2 Damage. Only applies to attacks which originated outside the 15 foot radius, and protects anyone who is within that radius. Nothing can pass into the bubble until the barrier is broken. The Damage reduction from the barrier is applied before Armor, and is treated like Armor by any effects such as Armor Penetration. You may only have 1 active barrier at a time.
You must maintain Concentration while using this Effect. The barrier will fall if you are interrupted, or if it absorbs the full amount of Damage. When a barrier falls, you cannot use this Effect again for a minimum of 2 Rounds.
Vermin you look through seem abnormally intelligent, but otherwise everything seems normal.
All commanded creatures are treated as a single ward, with a perception relative to their abilities and limited by their intelligence.
'Let me know if someone comes to this place' works. 'Let me know if someone acts suspicious' does not. Commanded creatures are not able to recognize most items, unless trained to do so- and even then, they might not realize a gun painted pink is a gun, for example.
You must be asleep in order to see and hear through the ward. This does not grant the ability to wake up as a free action.
Having a member of the horde be killed during active monitoring triggers a trauma roll, though only for the first one per 'scene'
Exert your Mind and spend an Action to activate. Select a target within 10 feet.
You place a ward, which is fixed to a target Object that can be moved and repositioned. You can hear and see through the ward as though you were standing at its location. You may have at most 1 wards running at once.
The ward requires Concentration to monitor, though it will remain active until you deactivate it. The ward can be discovered if someone knows what they are looking for, but is otherwise inconspicuous and cannot be identified as a ward.
You may declare a condition to watch for on an active Ward. If it occurs, you may roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 6, to notice it, even if you are not actively monitoring that ward.
You may communicate through your ward, though doing so will reveal its presence.
Possession of this Artifact causes the following Trauma to manifest over the course of a day: Territorial; If humans infringe on what you consider a private space, you must make a self control roll to not drive them out by force. If you lose possession of this Artifact, the Trauma heals over the course of the next month.
More a large spike with a rounded handguard and a comfortable handle than a knife. 10 inches long in total with 6 inches of a glistening blue steel ready to ruin your day. When it extends, looks more like a lance than anything else... What is this thing?
The world's most annoying knife.
This Artifact can be used as a knife. It is roughly at least twice as large as a knife and cannot be concealed on your person or disassembled for storage.
Attack by rolling (Dexterity or Brawn) + (Melee or Brawl), Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +3 Weapon Damage.
You also gain the following effects:
The wielder would hold the weapon in two hands as they don't need to grip too hard to hold the weapon. It is not slip unless intentionally by the user and with great force, it can be used in multiple thrusts with each strike being deadly when hit.
To become the next ruler of Hades, a new weapon was forged. Alastor is fond of forks with two prongs and the mythology of Hades having this implement pleases him.
This Artifact can be used as a club / improvised weapon. It is roughly the same size as a club / improvised weapon but can be collapsed into Tie clip and concealed. Collapsing or expanding it costs a Quick Action.
Attack by rolling Brawn + Melee, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +6 Weapon Damage. The target's Armor is fully effective against this damage.
The latest enhancement to the Umbrae Defender integrates advanced “black tech” defenses, blending next-generation materials science with covert tracking systems. The artifact now houses a layer of hyper-dense nanofiber mesh, invisible to the naked eye, which disperses kinetic energy from physical attacks. This nanofiber technology, known only to certain government labs and high-clearance contractors, reduces incoming damage significantly, rendering most forms of physical assault virtually ineffective. Only specialized attacks with legally encoded identifiers can bypass this armor, making it uniquely selective.
This nanofiber defense system is reinforced with a self-repairing lattice structure, embedded with molecular memory. If breached or damaged, the mesh automatically reconfigures itself, restoring to full strength within an hour, regardless of the intensity of the assault. This tech is resilient to armor-shredding tactics and cannot be bypassed by targeted shots, ensuring that the defense remains robust and consistent.
Embedded within the artifact is a miniature LiDAR tracking and triangulation system, activated immediately upon impact. When the armor is hit, this tracking system triangulates the origin point of the attack, locking onto the source’s exact location for 30 seconds. Utilizing covert radio frequency analysis, it provides a precise, untraceable data relay to the wearer, giving them a real-time, 360-degree awareness of their assailant’s position. The Umbrae Defender, enhanced by these black tech innovations, offers not only unparalleled defense but also an elite tracking system, turning each encounter into a tactical advantage.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.
You have 6, which reduces incoming damage from all sources of physical attack except Legally Justified Attacks. Armor from multiple sources does not stack.
Your Armor cannot be destroyed, and it always provides a minimum of 2 Armor regardless of any Armor shredding or penetration. It cannot be circumvented with Called Shots. When shredded, it returns to full potency in one hour.
Whenever your Armor reduces incoming Damage, you are immediately made aware of the source of the Damage. You may pinpoint their location for 30 seconds.
The user may commune with a single Abnormality, and force it to do the user's bidding after 3 rounds or 15 minutes at the expense of severe continuous mind damage (3 severity per round) the longer you exert your influence.
User must be uninterrupted while communicating, if interrupted restart the entire process; This effect can be resisted by intelligent & ALEPH Abnormalities.
"Throw it away until I remember it, when it crosses my mind, kick it again! Toss it, adore it, then burn it with fire! That's how you love... a lifeless thing!"
Exert your Mind and spend a Free Action. Select a Creature within arm's reach. This Effect cannot be used unless WHITE LIES EGO IS FULLY EQUIPPED.
For the next day, you may issue specific commands to your target which they will be compelled to follow.
Your commands must be relatively simple and within the target’s intellectual grasp. You cannot make them obviously endanger themselves or violate their instinct for self-preservation. The effects of the command will fade after a day has passed. You must maintain Concentration while your commands are being carried out, or the effect will end prematurely.
Anyone who touches this Artifact will notice it warping their mind and may drop it. If they choose to hold or use it, they immediately receive the following Trauma: Abnormality Whispers. If they lose possession of this Artifact, the Trauma heals over the course of the next day.
The Skeleton Key slips easily into any keyhole and turns without a fuss.
Spend an Action.
You may lock, unlock, and/or open any number of doors, containers, knots, or locks within arm's reach of you. Cannot be used on Alien technology.
If you successfully operate a lock, you may choose to destroy it, rendering it inoperable.
The Axe of Legend's blade has been imbued with the metal of the dark lord of rock and roll. It shreds chords and flesh. The rock god commanding it may recall it to their hand at will.
This Artifact can be used as a sword / axe. It is roughly the same size as a sword / axe and just as difficult to conceal.
Attack by rolling Brawn + Melee, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +4 Weapon Damage.
You also gain the following effects:
The Scepter of Ang-Kapal is a gruesome device fashioned to look like a skeletal arm clutching a glass eye. When used, blood from the person holding is drawn into the eye where it swirls with dark energy. The eye turns to a nearby corpse and shudders, reviving the creature. The creature does not retain any of its memories or personality, but it is absolutely loyal to whoever is holding the scepter.
The Scepter of Ang Kepal has the unfortunate side effect of driving its owner mad.
Increase your sacrificial Injury's Severity by 1 and spend one minute. Select a Dead target within arm's reach with at least half its skeletal structure remaining. You must make a Trauma roll when you use this Effect. Its Difficulty cannot be reduced by any means. If you fail or Botch, you receive one Mind Damage and a new Trauma.
Your target rises as an Animate being. The raised creature is totally mindless, with no memory of its past life or hint of its old personality. They cannot communicate. They will follow any command you speak.
The creature lasts for eight hours or until it dies again. It is revived at full health. Any Injuries it had in life are not accounted for when determining its penalties or progression towards re-death, though they may affect its ability to perform certain actions at GM's discretion.
Raised creatures have their Abilities set to the same that they were in life. Their Charisma and Intellect are set to 1, but their Dexterity, Brawn and Perception are the same as they had in life. A raised creature cannot use any Effects.
Destroying one of your zombies requires a called shot to the head or heart. All other Injuries zombies suffer result in Battle Scars only, limiting their mobility and effectiveness in other ways.
Your revived targets deal 2 Weapon Damage with their unarmed attacks.
If you do not have a sacrificial Injury when you activate this Effect, take a new Severity-1 Injury.
If the Selkie's seal skin is worn close to the body, any contact with salt water will cause them to transform into a seal. While transformed, they have full access to their normal suite of Powers.
This Effect activates whenever you are submerged in salt water. It does not require an Action or Exertion. Your target should be intuitively based on the triggering event.
You transform into small for two hours or until you choose to end the Effect. See the Extended System text for stats.
While transformed, you cannot use any equipment (including Artifacts and Consumables), and you cannot use your Active, Targeted, or Trap Powers. However, you can use your Passive Powers. Any equipment you are wearing transforms with you.
Injuries and Wound Level are carried over between forms. However, transforming can never kill you; you merely remain Incapacitated until your Injuries are sufficiently healed.
The De-Neuralizer is a small silver device that can emanate a bright flash of light. Any being that looks into it with uncovered eyes has their most recent period of the their memory set into a highly over-writable state for a moment. While in this state, their memories may be overwritten at will.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Location within within arm's reach. All Sapient targets within 20 feet are affected. This Effect cannot be used unless the target is looking directly into the device with uncovered eyes. Roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6. The target may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 7.
If the contested Outcome is positive, the most recent 1 hour from your target’s memory is either replaced with new memories or forgotten entirely. This is recorded as a Condition. The level of detail and completeness of the alteration depends on your Outcome. If you fail, the target realizes that you are attempting to alter their memories.
The period is chosen either by time (i.e. “last Friday night”) or by reference to a specific event (i.e. “when the murder occurred”).